B.C. records three new COVID-19 deaths as officials get ready to unveil reopening plan

The province recorded three new deaths and 23 new cases of COVID-19 on the same day as it is scheduled to unveil a broad plan on how to reopen B.C.’s economy.

On Wednesday (May 6), Dr. Bonnie Henry said a total of 2,255 people have tested positive for the virus and 1,494 of them have since recovered. A total of 124 people have died. One of the three people who died Wednesday was on Vancouver Island, while two more were in the Vancouver Coastal Health area. All were seniors in longterm care.

There are now 74 people hospitalized with the novel coronavirus, with 19 of them in ICU. Henry said there were no new outbreaks in longterm or acute care settings but 17 remain active, while an additional 17 have been declared over.

B.C. did not implement a hard shutdown like those seen in Ontario and Quebec, which both began their own reopening plans this week. In B.C., many non-essential businesses have continued to operate at a reduced level.

On Monday, Henry released modelling showing that current interactions, which are at 30 per cent of pre-coronavirus days, could double to 60 per cent and still keep hospitalizations fairly flat.

The details of B.C. re-opening plan are scheduled to be unveiled at 3 p.m.

The total case breakdown, by region: 852 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health, 1,046 in Fraser Health, 124 in Island Health, 179 in Interior Health and 54 in Northern Health.